Salvaging Low-Productivity Days: The Art Of The Daily Reset

How to get the most out of days when you’re the nail and not the hammer.

Neil S
The Shortform
1 min readJan 31, 2023

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Photo by Ryland Dean on Unsplash

Some days you’re going to knock it out of the park. Some days, things won’t go so well. On these not-so-well days, you will need a daily reset.

Three steps to your daily reset

  1. KNOW WHEN TO RESET: If you know when your day needs to re-begin (whether it’s due to distraction, procrastination, etc.) you know when to act before losing the rest of your day.
  2. USE A RESET TEMPLATE: Have a daily reset checklist. Do a mini-review. Move non-priority tasks forward and alert anyone affected. Determine what is a priority and get to work.
  3. REFLECTION: At the end of the day reflect on what was accomplished and what needs to be done; Note in your productivity journal the trigger for your reset. The first action helps with accountability; the second creates awareness for next time.

Use daily resets to salvage low-productivity days.

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Neil S
The Shortform

PhD candidate, dad, comic book collector, Georgetown law grad. I like writing about politics, finance, watches and writing. Let's talk!